


Love Amongst the Violins

by lulumonnie



Series: Zukka Classical Musicians AU [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Classical Music, Fluff and Angst, Listen I have a thing for classical music, M/M, Pianist!Sokka, Rated T for swearing, Rating May Change, The Kanroh Agenda is strong in this one. At some point at least, The whole Gaang is there and they're just fucking around, This is just a result of me watching too much twoset again dont mind me, Violinist!Zuko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25334125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lulumonnie/pseuds/lulumonnie
Summary: Sokka's conductor asks him to jump in as a replacement pianist for world-renowned Violinist Zuko, aka the Classical Musician AU noone asked for.
Relationships: Iroh/Kanna (Avatar), Past Sokka/Suki, Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Suki
Series: Zukka Classical Musicians AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834840
Comments: 31
Kudos: 125





	1. Adagio

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because I wanted to live vicariously through someone who's lightyears better than I am at the piano and this is what happened. If you want to know the setlist they're playing, I made a [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/381bDA9FOwGz9p9dtYOzC5?si=0hriqjyuR4WRRe0PYqNPRA)

He was late. Fuck, fuck, fuck, he was so late. His new duet partner was waiting for him and Sokka was fucking late. He’d make a terrible first impression, he’d piss off his conductor and he’d get thrown out and he’d have to live on his sister’s environmentally friendly thrifted couch, watching as she and her boyfriend went around saving the world with their activism while he’d be moping about yet another opportunity lost.

It really wasn’t his fault. His four alarms hadn’t gone off, he couldn’t find his keys and the tube had gotten stuck for 20 minutes. Maybe someone was out to get him. Maybe he was being framed for something. Maybe his old high school nemesis Jet was still pissed about when he’d managed to get the place in Julliard while Jet didn’t, and he’d devised a plan to finally ruin Sokka’s life ten years later. Sokka had no idea how Jet could have caused the tube to get stuck, but he didn’t doubt that the old scheming bastard would find a way if it meant finally getting back at him.

It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if it had just been regular practice. Sokka probably wouldn’t even have felt bad. He’d just have strolled in with Starbucks (which Katara would scold him for immensely) and sat down at the grand piano, ignoring the stink eye that conductor Piandao would certainly give him. The man wouldn’t hold it against him, he knew that. But today was supposed to be different. Piandao had told him to stay behind after practice a week or so ago with a serious face.

‘Sokka, I have a very important task for you’, he had told him. ‘We have a very coveted violinist coming into to town soon. He’s originally from the South, but he and his uncle are moving here, and he would like to use our facilities to hold a performance, violin accompanied by piano. Now here’s the thing. His old pianist left him suddenly and he’s in dire need of a replacement. I offered to ask whether you would be willing to jump in. This could be a huge opportunity for you.’

Sokka shook his head at the memory. Piandao was a good mentor and conductor of the city’s philharmonic orchestra and although Sokka didn’t often say it, he was the reason Sokka had grown confident enough to play solos every now and then. But this new task? It really was quite a lot of responsibility, especially since Piandao said the violinist was coveted. Piandao didn’t use that word lightly and Sokka was especially confused because Piandao had refused to tell him who exactly the mysterious violinist would be. Something about privacy. Sokka hoped it wouldn’t be some super famous old white dude who’d constantly scold him with disapproving glances. He’d had enough of that in his conservatory days.

Sprinting, grasping his bag filled with sheet music under one arm, he rounded the corner and ran into the music hall, nodding to the disinterested security guard and running up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Finally arriving at the designated practice room, he punched in his key card and opened the door a smidge, wanting to check whoever he had pissed off so royally by being so late.

The practice room was filled with violin music and after a few seconds, Sokka recognized it as the 24th of the Paganini Caprices. Whoever was playing was really fucking good, and Sokka lit up a bit at the possibility of playing with someone so talented. Sokka stuck his head into the room a bit more and saw the silhouette of a man in front of the window and his traitorous mind immediately screamed _hot_. The man was just that. He was broad shouldered, lean but not too tall, his dark hair was long and luscious as it fell onto his shoulders, a few strands hanging into his face. He was wearing well-fitted dark dress pants and a blood red dress shirt that looked like they cost more than half of Sokka’s wardrobe combined. Sokka inwardly shivered at his own outfit of jeans and a ratty button down with tiny boomerangs. He could only see one half of the man’s face and as he focussed on it, his throat ran a bit dry. Sokka had expected an old, crusty white dude who held his nose up too high and despised the fact that Sokka sometimes listened to Taylor Swift or wore his white necklace nearly everywhere. Hot violin guy definitely wasn’t an old white dude. Not in the slightest. He seemed to be around Sokka’s age and apart from his entire figure looking like something straight out of Sokka’s daydreams, his face was absolutely beautiful. He had long, dark eyelashes, an incredibly cute nose that Sokka yearned to boop and soft looking lips that were slightly furrowed in concentration. His eyes were closed as his long, elegant fingers flew over the violin in his hands, expertly playing fucking Paganini of all things. Sokka groaned inwardly. It was unfair that this guy wasn’t only incredibly attractive, he just had to be able to play the fucking violin equivalent of Liszt perfectly. Sokka shuddered and flexed his fingers at the thought of how long it would take to get even half as good as hot violin guy.

While Sokka was having an internal mental breakdown, hot violin guy kept playing, his eyes still closed and he started moving and suddenly, Sokka could see his whole face and the big scar over his other eye and he couldn’t hold back an audible gasp.

The mystery man he was supposed to accompany, hot violin guy was fucking _Zuko Lee_. Zuko. Lee. As in _the_ Zuko Lee who had played all over the fucking country and the world from the time was sixteen. As in one of the top soloists in the world. Zuko Lee, who was currently turning around to stare at Sokka, violin forgotten in his hands. Sokka stared back. God, Zuko had beautiful eyes. He had no idea how, but his eyes were somehow golden and Sokka forgot that he was supposed to be embarrassed and ashamed for being late.

‘Uhm, can I help you?’, Zuko asked, his eyebrow raised. Zuko had a really nice, raspy voice that made Sokka want to listen to him read bedtime stories.

‘What? Oh, right, I’m sorry I’m late but I’m supposed to, I guess, accompany you?’, Sokka answered after staring at Zuko’s lips for a few seconds.

‘Oh, _you’re_ Sokka?’

‘What, do I not live up to your expectations?’, Sokka asked, taken aback by the surprise in Zuko’s face.

‘It’s not that, I just… I hadn’t expected you to be so young and cu- I mean I thought you’d be older than I was. Not that you being young is bad thing, I hate it when people say that, but I just thought from how much Piandao was praising you you’d probably not be my age… that doesn’t make it better… I’m sorry?’, Zuko trailed off, a small blush spreading over his face. Sokka wanted to kiss him.

‘Oh, it’s fine, dude. Piandao didn’t tell me I was going to be playing with Zuko Lee of all people, I fully expected an old white dude, so really I feel you on that.’

‘Oh, okay… I guess I’m glad I was wrong?’, Zuko answered, fidgeting with the bow in his hand.

‘It really is quite a pleasant surprise’, Sokka said in a way that he hoped was smooth. Zuko’s blush seemed to deepen a bit, which Sokka took as a good sign and he finally fully stepped into the room. Zuko looked up at him and cleared his throat.

‘I guess we should talk about how this will work? Piandao told me you know what I would like to play?’, he asked, straightening his back and laying down his violin and bow on top of the piano in the room, taking out a tablet and a pen, looking at Sokka expectantly.

‘Oh, right, yes. Well… sorry again for being late. The tube got stuck on the way and I think my old high school nemesis has it out for me… anyway, Piandao gave me the set list and I’ve played most of these before, although they will need a bit of time for me to get them down perfectly.’

‘Wait, your high school nemesis?’, Zuko asked, lowering the tablet.

‘Yea, he still hates me because I got into Julliard and he didn’t. I’m sure he’s trying to sabotage me, I just know it.’

‘He’s trying to sabotage you by… getting stuck in the tube with you?’, Zuko asked, perplexed.

‘He wasn’t in the tube’, Sokka answered. ‘Anyway, do we want to arrange daily practices? Like a date or something?’

Zuko choked and nodded, his face bright red.

‘Yeah, a date. Totally. Does this time usually work for you?’, Zuko asked, clearing his throat and scribbling something onto his tablet.

‘If Jet doesn’t decide to hold up the metro every day, I should be fine’, Sokka said, blushing because Zuko was blushing and his blush was _really fucking cute_.

Zuko raised his eyebrow at the comment and seemed to choose to ignore it for now. Sokka could live with that.

‘Alright, how about we just go through the list and try the pieces out, see what works best?’, Zuko suggested, his face morphing into something much more professional. There was a clench in Sokka’s gut. He had liked seeing Zuko so open and awkward.

‘Sure, what do you want to start with?’, Sokka asked, shaking his head minutely to get rid of his traitorous thoughts. He needed to remain professional too. Zuko was an incredibly famous violinist and just playing with him was an honour. Sokka wasn’t going to ruin this just because the guy looked like everything Sokka had ever wanted in a man.

‘How about we start with Beethoven’s Kreutzer? That should be a good place to start with trying to get used to each other.’

‘Sounds good’, Sokka said, finally closing the door and setting his bag onto the windowsill, feeling Zuko’s eyes on his back.

Sokka got out his sheet music and walked over to the grand piano, setting the paper down and fussing with the stool until it was the right height for him. He was sure that the last person who had been playing in here must have been Toph, one of his closest friends. Apart from being generally badass and one of the strongest people Sokka knew, she was also extremely short and whenever she played in a room before him, he had to crank up the piano stool for at least a minute to be able to play comfortably. He made a mental note to tease her about it later. Finally, he sat down, arranged the sheet music for the first movement and looked up expectantly at Zuko.

Zuko was watching him with a strange glint in his eyes. It might have been interest or fascination, but Sokka wasn’t entirely sure.

‘Uhh, let’s start?’, Sokka asked, trying to fight back the blush threatening to take over his face. He really wasn’t used to someone so attractive looking at him for so long. It was slightly thrilling. It also was utterly terrifying.

Zuko nodded, set his violin to his chin, and closed his eyes and Sokka stared for a few seconds too long as Zuko started to play the first few beautiful mournful notes, nearly missing his queue.

Playing with Zuko was electrifying. Even though Sokka could feel that the next two months would require a lot of practice from himself to be able to keep up with Zuko, just playing with him on that first day was amazing. Zuko’s expressive violin playing and the enthusiasm he could feel from just watching him play ignited something in him that made the difficult runs suddenly feel much easier and lighter. Sokka had always loved making music. There was a reason why he chose to go into the world of professional classical music. But every now and then, he lost a bit of the drive he had to keep playing, keep practicing hours on hours every single day. But playing with Zuko made that old passion come back full force. He felt young and free and happy and like he was finally creating something beautiful. He’d heard of people in music finding others to play with who just _fit_. It had always seemed cheesy and Sokka had thought it was just more mushy romanticizing of classical music. In his experience up until then, the thing that made duets work was practice, not some fairy magical connection.

Sokka thought that he might have to rethink his stance on that now. He was never the best at words, always relying on his action and his music to express what he was feeling, but there was something tangible between Zuko and Sokka. There was just something about their respective styles and emotions that fit so well and Sokka was absolutely amazed how much he honestly, truly enjoyed playing with Zuko. The thought of stopping made his heart clench a bit and Sokka tried to lead his thoughts away from the question of what that might mean.

Zuko’s pizzicato pulled him out of his thoughts and he shifted his focus back on the music, tuning out the rampant questions in his head and just concentrating on the moment.

When they played the final notes of the first movement and finished, Sokka stared at the black and white keys for a bit, before looking up at Zuko, who was looking at him with greater interest than before. The two of them were silent for a while until the tiniest smile stretched over Zuko’s face, lighting up his eyes and just then, Sokka knew that he was a goner. Zuko’s smile was warm and approving and Sokka’s heart began to pick up speed, his mind starting to reel again.

‘Piandao wasn’t lying when he said you were good’, Zuko said, his voice cutting through the quiet in the room.

‘You- I- Thank you, you’re not bad yourself either’, Sokka stuttered, smiling back at Zuko awkwardly. He didn’t feel quite worthy to receive such a compliment from someone who had just blown his mind by simply playing the violin.

‘I think this will work just fine’, Zuko said, still smiling a tiny bit, walking over to the tablet and scribbling something down again. ‘Do you want to go through it again? I think there were some passages we should practice individually and together.’

‘Sounds like a good plan’, Sokka croaked, turning his attention back to the sheet music, forcing his mind to be professional and concentrate on his work and not on how warm and sweet Zuko’s smile was. He’d discuss that bit with Toph and his best friend Suki later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading so far!! The next chapter should be up in the next few days or sometime during the next week!


	2. Ritenuto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After rehersal, Sokka has breakfast with Toph and Suki. Things are discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know the setlist they're playing, I made a [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/381bDA9FOwGz9p9dtYOzC5?si=0hriqjyuR4WRRe0PYqNPRA)

‘Guys, I’m going to die’, Sokka said, the minute Suki and Toph picked up his call. He’d just left the music hall after saying goodbye to Zuko and promising to meet him tomorrow at the same time.

‘Sweet, do I get your piano?’, Toph asked, completely unperturbed by Sokka’s admission.

‘Toph, you take his piano and we get his flat’, Suki said.

‘Guys, this is serious. Where are you right now?’, Sokka asked.

‘Home. Suki is making me coffee like the good servant she is’, Toph answered.

‘Girlfriend. I’m your girlfriend’, Suki said and Sokka could hear Toph making kissy noises at Suki.

‘Guys stop being gay for a second, I’m having a crisis. Can I come over?’

‘Bold of you to assume I’ll ever stop being gay’, Toph said. ‘That’s my default setting. And yea, I don’t have practice until the afternoon and Suki’s class only starts at 5.’

‘Alright, I’ll be there in twenty minutes’, Sokka said, hanging up after saying goodbye and hurrying to the tube.

On the ride to Toph and Suki’s place downtown, Sokka let the three hours he’d spent with Zuko play back in his head. They’d mostly focussed on Beethoven, Sokka always in awe at Zuko’s talent and expression. There was something utterly fascinating and enchanting in way that Zuko played the Kreutzer Sonata. It wasn’t even so much how about Zuko’s skill, although that was staggering. It was more about his expression. Sokka didn’t know much about Zuko before now apart from having loved his recordings. He’d known that Zuko Lee was a talented and fantastic violinist, but the CDs he had at home didn’t do Zuko’s actual playing justice.

Sokka thought back to something Piandao had once said: _Sokka, nothing is quite like a live concert. No matter the piece, no matter the recording equipment, classical music is meant to be performed_. He guessed that Zuko’s case was just an extreme version of this. There was only so much emotion you could convey through mp3 and watching Zuko play was something entirely unique.

There seemed to be something so raw and beautiful about Zuko’s playing. The beginning of the first movement of Beethoven was already quite mournful, but Zuko played it in a way that made Sokka’s heart ache. There was real emotion behind his music, real pain and real experiences. Sokka had the unhealthy urge to find out what exactly those experiences were. He wanted to understand this man, this beautiful enigma, beyond the confines of music.

Sokka shook his head. There was something seriously wrong with him. He hadn’t even known Zuko for more than a few hours and he was supposed to be working with him for the next few months and here he was waxing poetically about the guy. He shuffled the sheet music in his bag a bit and stared out of the window of the moving tube. Sokka skipped the next few songs on his playlist until he ended up at one of his favourite Taylor Swift songs.

When he arrived at Toph’s and Suki’s place, he was still humming _haters gonna hate, hate, hate_ under his breath as he run the doorbell.

‘You’re up early’, was the first thing he was greeted with when Suki opened the door.

‘Fuck off’, he groaned. ‘It’s not like it was my choice. Rehearsal just started early today.’

‘Is Snoozles coming in or not?’, Toph yelled from inside. Sokka could hear her play Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1 on the piano as he stepped into the apartment.

‘She’s just practicing for a bit, she’ll be here in a few minutes’, Suki commented. Sokka stood at the door to the living room, watching as Toph played on the piano standing against the wall with her eyes closed.

Toph’s playing was breath-taking in a way Sokka had never expected. She’d been born blind but through years of meticulous training she’d learnt the piano perfectly. She was one of the country’s greatest soloists and Sokka looked up to her immensely, albeit not actually, since she was quite short. Toph never used sheet music, obviously. She simply used the feeling in the tips of her fingers to find the right notes and her perfect pitch certainly helped.

Sokka groaned. He wished he had perfect pitch. Everything seemed so much easier with perfect pitch. Although, he thought to himself, at least he played the piano, where pitch was not as big of an issue as for example in violin playing.

 _I wonder if Zuko has perfect pitch. Maybe he can teach me_ , Sokka thought and immediately reprimanded himself for the stray thought. No thinking about his duet partner, no matter how dreamy he was.

‘Earth to Sokka, you in there?’, Suki said, waving a hand in front of his face.

‘Huh? Oh yea. Can I have some coffee?’

‘Yeah sure. You look like you need it.’

‘Hey, I look great’, Sokka said, gasping offendedly.

‘You’ll look even greater once you’ve had coffee and we’ve talked about why you’re dying’, Suki mumbled, pulling Sokka into the kitchen and away from Toph.

The two of them had just gotten seated around the bar when Toph walked in and sat down on the stool next to Suki, automatically leaning against her slightly. Sokka smiled lightly. Seeing his two friends be so close and happy with each other was wonderful. The two of them had been in a queerplatonic relationship for a while now and it was one of those things that just _made sense_. He’d not often admit it out loud, but he really admired how Suki and Toph worked together especially with their conflicting work schedules. Suki was a coveted martial arts instructor in the city and Toph often travelled around the world to play in remote places. He’d asked them how they managed once and Toph had just scoffed and said _Being asexual means you have more time to talk_. Sokka hadn’t asked further questions.

‘Alright why are you dying, Sokka? I can hear you contemplating and sighing’, Toph said, accepting the mug Suki placed in her hands.

‘Okay so you know how I was supposed to meet my duet partner today?’

‘Did you oversleep again, Sokka?’, Suki asked, her eyebrows raised.

‘No- Well yes I did but this isn’t the point. Turns out my duet partner is fucking Zuko Lee’, Sokka grumbled, burying his face in his arms.

‘Who?’, Suki asked at the same time as Toph gasped.

‘You’re playing with _Zuko fucking Lee_?’, she asked, mouth hanging open in shock.

‘Should I know who that is?’, Suki asked, confusedly looking between her girlfriend and Sokka.

‘He’s only one of the most famous and talented violin soloists in the fucking world’, Toph explained, turning her head towards where Sokka was buried in his arms.

‘Okay so he’s crazy good. That’s more of an opportunity than a death sentence though?’

‘Suki, you don’t understand. He’s also literally everything I want in a man’, Sokka groaned from his arms.

‘Sokka, what the fuck’, Toph asked, setting her coffee down.

‘He’s really fucking cute and his playing is so fucking gorgeous, and I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun playing with anyone. Like it was genuinely beautiful even if I fucked up half the time because he’s just so---UGH’, Sokka explained, still cocooned in his arms.

‘So, you have a crush on your duet partner’, Suki summed up, resting her head on Toph’s.

‘I do not. I can appreciate a pretty face and talent without having a crush.’

‘He totally has a crush’, Toph said, grinning widely.

‘Toph, I can’t. You know I can’t.’

Toph sighed.

‘I know, Sokka, but you also can’t just turn off feelings. Just…don’t flirt with him’, she said.

‘How do I do that?’, Sokka asked.

‘I think that’s like asking Katara not to commit tiny acts of ecoterrorism. It’s in their blood, Toph’, Suki said, leaning over to pat Sokka’s head. ‘Just don’t be too obvious about it at least, Sokka. Just chill and figure out your feelings. You’ve only known him for a day now, he could be a complete asshole.’

‘A really cute one tho’, Sokka grumbled.

Toph opened her mouth to say something but Sokka’s ringing mobile saved him from whatever Toph was going to add.

‘Hello?’, Sokka answered the phone.

‘Piandao here. Sokka, I heard you were late?’, Sokka heard the voice of his conductor through the phone.

‘Shit- I mean, I’m sorry? Zuko didn’t seem to mind too much.’

‘Lucky for you. Please try not to be late again tomorrow, his manager and I will be there as well, and we’ll discuss preliminary dates and venues. So. Don’t. Be. Late.’

Sokka grimaced.

‘I will try my best, boss’, he said.

‘Good. Now don’t forget to practice. See you tomorrow.’

‘Bye’, Sokka finished lamely.

‘Piandao chew you out for being late?’, Toph asked.

Sokka grumbled a low _yes_ and drank his coffee.

He left Suki and Toph’s flat after eating a very belated breakfast at 12 am and once he got back to his own apartment, he felt a bit calmer and sank down on his sofa. His thoughts were still going at 90 miles per hour as soon as he relaxed, and he didn’t have a task left to do. He sat up and walked over to the piano, letting his fingers fly over the keys in a familiar pattern. He didn’t even know what he was playing at first, he just let his mind reel and his hands free, not caring what he was doing. He’d started dealing with his feelings this way a few years ago, back when he’d been more lonely and less open about his feelings towards his friends.

After a while he could figure out that he was playing Paganini. On the piano. Exactly the same piece that Zuko had been playing earlier.

Sokka groaned and stopped playing. He really didn’t know what was going on in his head that made him think of his duet partner so much. Resigning to the fact that he’d probably not manage to get anywhere with his usual coping mechanisms concerning weird intrusive thoughts, he sat down and began to practice. He’d deal with his weird mixed feelings at some other point. Right now, he had work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter was a bit shorter, but I wanted to get the friends talk done before starting the next bit!! Let me know what you thought, I appreciate any and all feedback!  
> Talk to me on tumblr about Atla: @flameyohotdamn


	3. Disharmony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second day of practice.

‘Ah, Sokka, you’re early’, Piandao said as soon as Sokka entered the practice room at 9 fucking am in the morning. Sokka grumbled something intelligible and set down his bag on the windowsill again.

‘I see you’re in high spirits’, Piandao commented.

Sokka only rolled his eyes at his mentor. Zuko wasn’t here yet, so there was no need for bravado. He unpacked his sheet music again and set about readying the piano. He had the urge to surprise Zuko with some beautiful melodies of his own, just so the other would immediately realise that this time, Sokka _wasn’t_ late. He shook his head. It was like Suki was astral-projecting in the corner of the room, giving him a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk. Sokka glared back at the imaginary Suki and sat down at the piano, warming up with a few easy etudes.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Sokka could see Piandao looking out of the window, seemingly contemplating and playing around with the ring he carried on a chain around his neck. Sokka had never figured out what exactly that ring meant, but Piandao always wore it. Initially, Sokka thought his mentor was just a very avid Tolkien fan and had been very excited, but then he’d made a ‘going on an adventure’ joke about Toph (the designated hobbit of the friend group) and Piandao had just stared at him blankly. The mystery of Piandao’s ring was still unsolved as of now. Every now and again, Sokka thought of just asking him, but it was also too much fun to come up with endless theories over the significance of the ring with Toph and Suki. The most prominent theory was that it was either a ring he’d gotten from a long-lost love he’d never given up on or a membership ring for a secret society of ‘woke old dudes who enjoy torturing people with Pachabel’, as Suki had called it.

Finishing up his etudes, Sokka absentmindedly started playing Chopin’s _Grande Valse brilliante_ , feeling the familiar melody wash over him. He remembered playing the waltz for the first time as part of an audition for one of his first semi-professional orchestras. He smiled as he let his fingers fly over the keys, his eyes closed because he’d played it so many times, he didn’t need any sheet music anymore.

While Sokka was still playing, the door opened and Zuko stepped in, closely followed by a short, older man with smile wrinkles, a frankly epic long grey beard and long grey hair fasted in a topknot. Sokka didn’t stop playing until he reached the end of the piece and watched as the two set down their things, Zuko nodding to him awkwardly once.

Once Sokka was finished, he stood up greeted the two new arrivals.

‘Good morning, Zuko! And this must be your manager?’

‘I’m mostly his uncle. I help him out here and there with the official stuff because he needs a helping hand so you could say I’m his manager, but really, I am just a humble tea shop owner with a very talented nephew. You can call me Iroh’, the short man said. He had a nice friendly demeanour and Sokka immediately felt more comfortable in the situation. Zuko, who was standing next to Iroh didn’t seem to share the sentiment as he blushed at his uncle’s compliment. Sokka thought it looked adorable. Then he told himself to shut up and be professional.

‘Good morning, Iroh’, Piandao said and walked over to them, greeting Iroh like an old friend, his hand still fidgeting with the ring. When Iroh shook Piandao’s hand, Sokka noted that the shorter man wore a ring that looked suspiciously like the one Piandao always wore. Sokka’s eyebrows shot up. He’d definitely have to consult Toph and Suki later on.

Zuko cleared his throat and Sokka’s focus was immediately on him. He scolded himself internally for reacting so quickly.

‘So, we should get to practicing, can we go over the details quickly?’, Zuko asked, fiddling with his bow. Sokka found it extremely fascinating that Zuko managed to be so utterly confident when playing his violin but seemed painfully awkward and shy whenever he wasn’t playing.

Iroh and Piandao quickly discussed the details of when and how the collaboration between the two of them would work and set the date for the first concert. Sokka counted in his head and realised he’d have three months of daily practices with Zuko until then. A part of him sprang up with glee and started dancing while his rational side tried desperately to not be too excited.

While Piandao and Iroh were taking notes and discussing concert hall arrangements, Sokka threw another glance at Zuko, who stood next to him incredibly stiffly, still fiddling with his bow.

‘So, your uncle is your manager?’, Sokka asked.

Zuko turned his head to him almost instantly, nodding quickly.

‘Oh, that’s very cool. I can’t imagine having my family so involved in my career, that’s really cool’, Sokka said. As soon as he’d spoken, Zuko winced and clutched his bow tighter, a shadow of anger passing over his face.

‘…yea’, he said, his voice small and rough. Sokka felt a stab in his chest. That had not been the right thing to say.

‘Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t –‘, he started but Zuko cut him off.

‘You don’t have to do this’, he said.

‘What?’

‘Pretend to be interested and make small talk’, Zuko answered.

‘I’m not pret-‘

‘It’s okay. We’re here for the music, don’t feel like you have to be my friend or something.’

Sokka stared at Zuko. His tone was harsh, and he’d turned his face away from him so Sokka could only see the reddish tones of his scarred eye. Sokka felt something inside him knot together and he turned his gaze towards the keys on the piano, not knowing how to respond to Zuko’s brash reaction.

‘Alright, boys. We’re done here, we’ll leave you to your rehearsal now’, Piandao said. ‘Iroh would you like to join me for some tea?’

It might have been Sokka’s imagination but there was a certain glint in Piandao’s eyes when he asked. There was definitely something very conspiratory in the sagely nod Iroh gave as an answer.

‘Goodbye Zuko, Sokka. Have a good practice and remember to work together. That is the only way to create true harmony’, Iroh said, nodding to the two and leaving the room, Piandao in tow.

Sokka was so weirded out by that statement that he murmured _what the fuck_ underneath his breath.

‘Uncle is just like that. He really enjoys his good advice’, Zuko said.

Sokka looked up again. Zuko’s head was still turned away but he seemed to be less tense at least.

‘Let’s get to Kreutzer’, he added, the tenseness in his shoulders returning, making Sokka cringe internally.

‘Sure’, he murmured, casting his eyes down onto the sheet music and trying to ignore the clenching in his gut.

The next few hours were painfully awkward. Sokka still enjoyed playing with Zuko immensely, but there was a really tense air in the room and Sokka wanted to turn tail and run anytime the two of them stopped playing and talked. Zuko seemed mostly closed off and cold and even any compliment about Sokka’s playing seemed flat and abrasive. Sokka made a mental note to never bring up family with Zuko. There seemed to be something underlying there and the last thing he wanted was to make Zuko uncomfortable.

Sokka didn’t know whether it was just his overactive imagination and his self-deprecating instincts taking over, but he felt his own concentration slipping as he started messing up runs he’d been able to play since he was 16. If Zuko noticed Sokka cursing under his breath, he didn’t mention anything. He just kept playing, his violin sounding, if possible, even more mournful and saddened now. Sokka wanted to kick himself for asking unsolicited questions. His curiosity simply got the better of him in too many situations.

The rest of practice was hell. Sokka felt himself spiral more and more. He cursed internally, trying his damndest not to _think_ about his playing but the more he tried the more he felt his anxiety get the better of him, because his brain just _wouldn’t shut up_. Piandao had once told him that thinking too much about the notes he was playing inevitably made the music less attractive. Sokka wanted to scream at the thought of his playing sounding like nothing more than some computer generated consecutive frequencies.

‘Alright’, Zuko said once he set down his violin after a particularly rough piano part. ‘I think we’ve had enough for today.’

Sokka wanted to curl into ball and hide in his room. He felt shame and embarrassment roll over him as Zuko didn’t even turn to look at him while he started packing up his violin. Sokka sighed and dejectedly started collecting his sheet music, staring at the keys of the piano and trying to hold in tears.

 _I won’t cry over this, goddamn it_ , he told himself. _It’s just one stupid practice_.

 _One stupid practice I fucked up so badly that I probably scared away Zuko fucking Lee_ , another part of him, the part that his therapist told him not to listen to so much, interjected. Listening to his therapist had never been the easiest thing.

Sokka was still buried in his own thoughts when he heard an awkward cough from behind him. He whirled around and Zuko was standing there, fiddling with his violin case and looking at a spot next to Sokka’s face.

‘Uhh, don’t worry… everyone has bad practices sometimes… we can just pick up here again tomorrow’, he mumbled, awkwardly laying a hand on Sokka’s arm. Sokka stared at Zuko.

‘I mean, it wasn’t bad at all, you just looked kinda down and I know what it feels like to not be satisfied with your own playing… I mean what I’m saying is that you shouldn’t overthink it too much.’

Sokka stared at Zuko for a bit longer. The place where Zuko was still touching his arm tingled. Sokka felt himself blush a bit as he watched Zuko’s face heat up as well.

‘Thanks’, he croaked. ‘Wait, you get nervous too?’, Sokka added, suddenly distracted from his inner turmoil.

‘What? Yeah, of course’, Zuko answered, his eyebrow raised. His hand was still on Sokka’s arm.

‘I just thought, you’re Zuko Lee. You’ve been doing this for so long’, Sokka mumbled, feeling incredibly stupid.

Zuko let out a little laugh and the tiniest smile showed up on his face. Sokka tried his best not to stare at his lips too openly.

‘Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous’, Zuko answered. He’d apparently forgotten that he was still touching Sokka, and some part of Sokka hoped he’d forget about it a bit longer.

‘My point is, you’re fine. We’ll pick up again tomorrow. Also, sorry for being so harsh earlier, I’m not the best person at… people things’, Zuko said, cringing a bit and taking his hand back. Sokka lamented the loss of Zuko’s surprisingly warm fingers on his arm.

‘Thank you. And that’s a-okay, dude, don’t worry’, Sokka answered.

 _Did I just call him dude?_ he thought, mentally facepalming. 

Zuko smiled at him again and Sokka lost control of his mouth.

‘Ahh if you want to go for a drink after practice sometimes, do an activity together or something, let me know’, Sokka blurted out.

‘Uhh, Uncle is waiting for me right now…’, Zuko trailed off, looking a bit like a deer caught in headlights. Sokka wanted to kick himself. Hard. They had been making progress.

‘Oh, yeah, I totally understand, man. Just let me know if you want to buddy, alright?’, Sokka said, floundering. _What’s next, I’ll call him bro?_ Sokka thought, feeling his cheeks redden.

‘Uhh, sure. Well, I’ll uhh be going now. I think. Yeah. Uncle’s waiting so uhh… bye?’, Zuko said, stepping back from Sokka and giving him an awkward openhanded wave and walking towards the door.

‘Bye’, Sokka echoed as Zuko slipped out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Sokka alone in the practice room, his arm still warm and tingly, his face red.

 _What the fuck_ , Sokka thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! I couldn't not make them complete awakward messes, I'm sorry. It's Zukka after all.  
> I'm hoping I can have the next chapter done sometime next week so we can have somewhat regular weekly updates.  
> Let me know what you thought!!  
> My tumblr is @flameyohotdamn if you want to talk to me!!


	4. Reprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka and Zuko get to know each other a bit better. 
> 
> Reprise: repetition, reiteration of earlier material

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know this is quite late but the chapter is a bit longer than the ones before, so I hope that makes up for the wait. I'm on holiday now so I might be able to write a bit more now!!

Sokka was well and truly fucked. He’d spent the last two weeks practicing and practicing endlessly, trying his best to not die of embarrassment whenever he and Zuko practiced together. Their practices weren’t as horrendous as the second day, but there was an ever present feeling of awkwardness in the air. 

This in itself would have already been enough, but for some reason Sokka could not get his thoughts away from the violinist. It felt like every waking second, Sokka was either thinking about Zuko or frantically trying to distract himself from thinking about Zuko. 

‘I don’t know what to do’, Sokka said to Katara and Aang, who were hunched over the gigantic wedding planner Sokka had brought along to their apartment. 

‘I don’t know if there even is that much for you to do in a situation like this’, Katara said, frowning at the crudely drawn picture of an otter with a penguin’s face on the cover of the wedding planner. ‘Why is there a seal-penguin hybrid on my wedding planner?’

‘Technically that’s my planner. And the pengotter _adds character_ ’, Sokka answered. 

‘Well we’re the ones getting married’, Aang commented, although he was inspecting the pengotter with much interest, his arm resting on the sofa behind Katara’s back. 

‘Well, I made this colour-coded planner. It’s perfect for people who are as abominable at plans as you guys are’, Sokka said, grinning. 

‘We are not abominable at planning, Sokka’, Katara said, shooting her brother a nasty look. ‘We’re just more free-spirited.’

‘Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I marked all the really important stuff with bright red, the important stuff is orange, the still-worth looking at stuff is yellow and anything green you can just glance at and tell me what you think’, Sokka explained, pointing to the planner. 

‘Sokka, most of this is bright red’, Aang commented, lifting the folder up and looking at the mountains of post-it stickers poking out the side. 

‘Well, most of it is important. As your best man I have to make sure that this thing is great, alright?’

‘Thanks, Sokka’, Aang said, shooting Sokka a bright smile and placing his hand on Katara’s back. ‘Also Sokka, maybe you should try talking to Zuko a bit more? It seems like you guys get on well, he’s probably just a bit awkward.’

Sokka sighed. 

‘I guess you have a point. When we play together it works. It’s fantastic, really. Whenever we start playing, it just _fits_. And then I open my mouth and suddenly I’m fourteen again, trying to talk to Yue.’

Katara and Aang shared a look. 

‘Just try? You invited him to have a drink once, maybe try that again? Just, friendly stuff’, Aang said, still smiling. 

‘Why do you have to be right, Aang?’, Sokka asked, burying his head in his arms. 

‘It’s a gift and a curse’, Aang said, nodding sagely. Katara rolled her eyes and nudged him in the side to show him different table runner options. 

* * *

When Sokka hurried to rehersal the next day, he was still contemplating on how to ask Zuko to get an after-work drink. As friends. Of course. Sokka wouldn’t allow himself to think too much about anything more. He tried to, at least, but sometimes his mind would wander to places where a drink after work turned into shy glances and interlaced fingers, stolen kisses in hidden corners and lazy mornings. 

Sometimes Sokka would catch himself imagining golden eyes and unruly black hair first thing in the morning and he’d berate himself for half an hour. Then, a few days later he’d wake up to the exact same thought. It was impossible to escape. Zuko’s lamenting version of Kreutzer was stuck in Sokka’s head and no matter how much One Direction he blasted on his headphones at one am, it wouldn’t leave him alone. 

Frowning, Sokka pushed open the door to the practice room and nearly knocked into Zuko who was standing right behind it. 

‘Huh- Oh fuck, sorry I didn’t see ya there’, he said, facepalming internally. 

Zuko looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. 

‘Uh, right, it’s alright… I was standing behind the door anyway’, Zuko mumbled. 

‘Okay, uhhh…. well… you said you wanted to try out the new piece? Butterfly Lovers?’, Sokka said, trying his best to alleviate the awkwardness. 

Zuko’s eyes glinted with something.

‘Yes! I’m very interested in what you think of it, honestly, I personally find it absolutely a-door-able’, he said, glancing away. 

Sokka stared at Zuko. 

‘Was that- Did you just make a dad joke?’

Zuko blushed and Sokka felt his heart skip a beat. Zuko said nothing. 

‘You totally made a dad joke!’, Sokka exclaimed, his face split in a giant grin. ‘And here I thought you couldn’t get any cooler.’

Zuko whipped his head back to stare at Sokka. They were both blushing now. Sokka hadn’t meant to say the last part out loud. 

‘I’m not cool. At all’, Zuko mumbled. 

Sokka scoffed and finally closed the door behind him, walking over to the piano.

‘You’re totally cool. But, I know a way how you can get even cooler’, he said, unpacking his sheet music. 

Zuko cocked his eyebrow. 

‘Come have a drink with me after this. I swear, I’ll be bar-able’, Sokka answered, shooting Zuko a shit-eating grin, trying desperately to mask his nervousness. 

Zuko’s eyebrow rose up a bit higher but a smile played around his mouth and he finally started giggling. Sokka felt his throat tighten as he listened to Zuko’s raspy laugh. 

_It’s not fair that he sounds this good while laughing when his violin playing is already so beautiful,_ he thought. 

‘Alright, that was terrible but I appreciate the effort. I’ll get one drink with you but only after we’ve gotten this down at least somewhat.’

Sokka beamed. 

‘Sweet, alright! Let’s get to loving these butterflies then’, Sokka said. Zuko nodded and looked at him with a soft smile for a second before turning around to get his violin. Sokka felt warmth rush up his spine and his face. 

Zuko picked up his violin, playing a quick etude and tuning it while Sokka spread the sheet music for _I. Adagio Cantible_ on the piano and tried to fight his blush. 

‘My friend actually arranged this version’, Zuko commented, his gaze on the sheet music in front of him. 

‘Oh?’

‘Yeah, she’s a fantastic composer and her arrangements are very nice, especially for the piano and the violin.’

Sokka smiled. For some reason, he felt honoured that Zuko had disclosed this information without any question from Sokka. 

* * *

‘So your friend is a composer?’, Sokka asked Zuko as they started packing up after finishing a gruelling day of practice. Zuko smiled slightly. 

‘Yeah. She mostly works with anime and film soundtracks, so I sadly don’t get to play her pieces very often, but she’s great at what she does.’

‘You don’t like anime?’, Sokka asked, picking up all the loose sheet music that had spilled out of his bag when he’d accidentally knocked it over a few hours ago. 

‘No, I do. It’s just not exactly what people expect when they come to see me play’, Zuko explained, packing up his violin and heading towards the door, waiting for Sokka. 

‘Ah, I see that…’

Zuko quirked a corner of his mouth up and as Sokka joined him, they left the building together. 

‘Alright, you agreed to one drink, so let’s go!’, Sokka said, ushering Zuko towards the closest decent bar. ‘I hope you don’t mind gay bars.’

Zuko scoffed. 

‘That would be pretty ironic.’

Sokka quirked an eyebrow at him, his mind reeling at the implications. 

‘It would be like us hating concerts’, Zuko explained, a slight blush on his cheeks. He blushed quite often. Sokka loved it.

‘I mean it depends on the concert honestly’, Sokka said, trying his best not to smile too hard. 

‘As long as it isn’t a One Direction concert, I’m good’, Zuko said, laughing. 

Sokka stopped in his tracks. Zuko kept walking for a bit and when he realised there was no one next to him he turned around to look at Sokka with a puzzled expression. 

‘What?’, he asked. 

Sokka stared at him in shock and disappointment. 

‘I know you didn’t just disrespect One Direction like that’, Sokka said, crossing his arms defiantly. 

‘Wait, you _like_ One Direction?’

‘Well, duh. Anyone who doesn’t like One Direction just hates fun.’

‘I don’t hate fun. I just don’t like their music.’

‘Nu-huh. You hate fun. How can you not like _Midnight Memories_?’

Zuko frowned. 

‘Their music is just… so easy?’

Sokka gasped, affronted. He walked towards Zuko and put one hand on his shoulder, ignoring the little jump his heart gave at that. 

‘Zuko. It’s not supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to be fun. Easy, quick and fun serotonin.’

Zuko was holding back a smile and Sokka felt tempted to back down because Zuko looked so damn pretty up close. This moment of weakness was quickly squashed when Sokka felt his inner 12-year-old scream at him to defend his boys. 

‘I’ll make you like One Direction, I swear’, Sokka said, patting Zuko’s shoulder. 

‘...sure’, Zuko said as they started walking again. ‘What other music do you listen to apart from fun easy stuff?’

‘Hmm, my music taste is kind of all over the place honestly. I’ve been listening to a lot of Taylor Swift lately, but I will also never say no to a straight week of just MCR’, Sokka joked, watching Zuko’s face closely at the mention of MCR. 

Zuko bit back another smile. 

‘MCR, huh? I had a phase when I was 16 so I get you.’

‘I knew it!’, Sokka exclaimed, pushing open the door to the bar. 

‘What?’

‘You just have the vibes of someone who had an emo phase.’

‘It wasn’t an emo phase, really-’

‘So you never wore eyeliner and listened to nothing but Teenagers on repeat for six hours?’

Zuko whinced. 

‘Okay you got me there. I did do that. I think uncle still has some of those old pictures framed. I don’t know how he dealt with all that’, he mumbled as they sat down at the bar. 

‘Hey, I get you. My sister and her finacé won’t let me live down my bad attempt at black nail polish either’, Sokka said, grinning at Zuko.

‘Oh I remember the days of chipped black nail polish. I think I once spilled some in my empty violin case. It wasn’t pretty.’

Sokka shuddered. 

‘That sounds as bad as the time I stole my sister’s make up to try out a very bad smokey eye and I spilled it all over my dad’s favourite shirt. My other dad stopped him from grounding me though, thankfully’, he said. 

Zuko giggled under his breath and opened his mouth to say something when the bartender walked towards them, shooting Sokka a smile. 

‘Hey, Smellerbee!’, Sokka said, greeting the girl behind the counter. 

‘Hey Sokka, haven’t seen you around much lately’, she said. 

‘I’ve been a bit busy with rehersals and such’, Sokka replied, nodding to Zuko. 

‘What can I get you two?’, Smellerbee asked. 

‘I’ll take my usual’, Sokka said. ‘Zuko?’

‘I’ll uhh… take whatever Sokka’s having’, Zuko said, his eyes darting around the bar. 

‘Two glasses of orange juice coming up’, Smellerbee said, walking over to the fridge to get their drinks. 

‘Orange juice?’, Zuko asked, cocking his head to the side. 

‘I don’t actually drink. I just thought that that’s probably the most normal thing coworkers do together’, Sokka explained, fiddling with his necklace. 

Zuko laughed. 

‘So you lured me here under false pretences. That’s quite sneaky.’

‘Sneaky is my middle name.’

‘Sure it is.’

‘Hey, I’m plenty sneaky. I once infiltrated the city’s best haiku society and it took a whole 20 minutes until the bouncer threw me out.’

Zuko stared at Sokka while Smellerbee returned with two glasses filled to the brim with ice and a little bit of orange juice. 

‘Hold on, there’s a haiku society? That has a bouncer? And you got thrown out of that?’

‘Yup. They just weren’t ready for my advanced haikus, it was done out of pure jealousy, I tell ya.’

Zuko burst out laughing and Sokka felt lighter than air. Zuko’s entire face scrunched up and his eyes crinkled as he laughed and it made Sokka’s heart pang with _so many feelings._

‘You- you think you got thrown out of a haiku society because of jealousy?’, Zuko giggled, wiping at his unscarred eye. 

‘Totally. I feel bad for their close-mindedness, I really do poety them’, Sokka said, spurned on by Zuko’s laughter. 

Zuko laughed harder, full on wheezing now and Sokka felt like he’d probably be hovering a foot above the ground if he wasn’t sitting with how light he was feeling.

‘I’m so glad you appreciate dad jokes, they’re like half my personality along with meat and sarcasm’, Sokka said, smiling so wide his cheeks hurt. Zuko just kept giggling under his breath and nodded, sipping on his juice. 

‘Stay here a sec’, Sokka said, patting Zuko on the back and trying his best not to prance towards the old-timey jukebox in the corner, plugging in a few songs and walking back to where Zuko was sitting at the bar, watching him. 

‘I just made sure we’ve got some good music’, Sokka said, smirking at Zuko’s eye roll. 

‘If this is just seven One Direction songs I’m leaving.’

‘It’s not just 1D, Zuko.’

Just then, the whole room quieted down as a single G note reverberated through the bar. Zuko stared at Sokka and in a fit of madness, the two of them started singing along with the rest of the bar, screaming about marching bands and carrying on. 

After 5 minutes of this, the last few drum rolls sounded through the bar and Sokka slumped onto the chair next to Zuko who had an uncharacteristically carefree expression on his face. Sokka thought he looked beautiful. 

‘Well, I have to say I didn’t expect that’, Zuko said, smiling up at Sokka. 

‘I mean, I had to butter you up a bit before making you see that the light only lies with One Direction’, Sokka teased, drinking a bit of his orange juice as the next song started playing. 

‘What’s this?’, Zuko asked, furrowing his eyebrow. 

Sokka smirked. 

‘This, my dear friend, is a little song called _Act My Age_ by a little old group called One Direction.’

Zuko stared at him and Sokka saw his leg bouncing in sync with the rhythm and he grinned wider. 

‘It’s fun, isn’t it?’, Sokka asked. Zuko grumbled something under his breath. 

‘What was that?’

‘I said, it’s nice’, Zuko mumbled, tentatively nodding his head along with the music. Sokka started to sing along to the lyrics, his inner 12 year old with an adolescent crush on Harry screaming at the top of his lungs. 

Zuko started humming along under his breath, seemingly catching himself and holding back, when Sokka threw his arm around Zuko’s shoulders, starting to gently sway along to the music, pulling Zuko along. 

Sokka tried his best to ignore the tingling in his arm and side where Zuko’s warm body pressed into him. Zuko seemed to finally give in as he let himself be tugged along to Sokka’s swaying. 

‘Do you see the light now?’, Sokka asked, continuing his swaying as the next song, _No Control_ , started playing. 

‘I mean… it’s not bad’, Zuko said, trying and failing to suppress a smile. 

‘We’ll get you there, don’t worry buddy’, Sokka said. 

Zuko rolled his eyes but he made no move to get away from the arm around his shoulders. Sokka took this as a good sign. 

‘I didn’t think I’d end up drinking orange juice and listening to One Direction in a gay bar when I woke up today’, Zuko said, nursing his watered down orange juice. 

‘Life is funny that way sometimes. It always leads you down interesting paths, but ultimately into the right _direction’_ , Sokka said, grinning stupidly. Zuko snorted. 

‘Okay that one was terrible, even for bad joke standards.’

‘I know, I know’, Sokka said, still grinning. 

Sokka went to say something else when Zuko’s phone rang. Sokka pulled back his arm as Zuko went to pick up whoever was calling him. Sokka lamented the loss of the warmth against him as he tried his best not to listen in on Zuko’s conversation, but that proved useless as Zuko just started talking in rapid Japanese. After a minute, Zuko hung up and turned to Sokka. 

‘I’m sorry, there’s… some family business. Uncle needs me home soon, so I’ll have to leave’, Zuko said apologetically. ‘I don’t mean to leave you hanging, but it sounds important.’

‘Hey, it’s okay. I understand, no worries. Let’s just pay and head out, we can always continue this at some other point’, Sokka said, bumping his shoulder against Zuko’s and immediately berating himself for it. _Way to seem like the straightest dude on this planet, Sokka._

‘I’d like to’, Zuko said softly and Sokka’s heart soared.

They paid and Sokka followed Zuko out of the bar after waving goodbye to Smellerbee. Outside, Zuko turned around to wish him goodbye when Sokka had an idea.

‘Okay so I know you have to go right now, but I want to make you a playlist of One Direction songs you _need_ to know. As a replacement of all the good music you missed from the jukebox’, he said. 

Zuko smiled lightly, rolling his eyes again. Sokka thought it was probably for show. 

‘Alright, I’ll give you my private number and you can send it to me. I won’t promise anything, tho’, Zuko said, pulling out a scrap of paper and a pen, scribbling down some scratchy numbers and pushing the paper into Sokka’s hand. Their hands brushed minutely and Sokka fought a blush. 

‘I’ll convert you to One Direction yet’, Sokka said, clutching the piece of paper in his hand tightly. 

‘We’ll see’, Zuko said. ‘Well, I have to head back. See you tomorrow?’

‘Yeah! Good night’, Sokka said, holding up his empty hand and waving at Zuko as he headed down the street. 

Sokka stared after Zuko for a while, his fingers still tingling with warmth and his cheeks warm with a blush. 

‘So who was the cute guy?’, a voice behind him said, making Sokka jump. He turned around and saw Smellerbee standing just outside of the bar. 

‘Oh hi, Bee… He’s just my duet partner’, Sokka said, trying his best to seem nonchalant. 

Evidently, he failed hilariously because Smellerbee raised her eyebrows high and chuckled. 

‘Right. And I’m completely straight’, she said, still chuckling. 

‘He _is_ my duet partner.’

‘But you’d _like_ to be more, wouldn’t you?’, she asked. Sokka was silent but he glanced back to the corner around which Zuko had vanished minutes ago. 

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

Sokka shrugged. 

‘Okay, okay, I see that it’s complicated. I won’t pry, I just wanted to say that he seemed very interested in you as well’, Smellerbee said, turning to head back into the bar. 

‘Wait, he did?’

She laughed again. 

‘Yeah. He stared at you a lot and was very blushy. It was kind of adorable to watch both of you stare at each other when the other wasn’t watching.’

Sokka swallowed hard, staring at his friend. 

‘Anyway, I have to go back to work. Good night, Sokka.’

‘Night, Bee’, Sokka said, staring at the wall while she went back inside. 

On his underground ride back home, he stared into nothingness for a while before remembering the number still tucked into his hand. He quickly saved it and started to create a playlist of his favourite One Direction songs. 

When he arrived home, he’d finished the playlist _Welcome to the Right Direction_ and he sent Zuko a text, his heart pumping as he typed it out. 

> To: Zuko Lee (Private), 23:35: Hey this is Sokka, and this playlist will rock ya, I’m good at haikus. 

Sokka set down his bag with the sheet music and was halfway through washing his face and brushing his teeth when his phone pinged with a new message. 

> From: Zuko Lee (Private), 00:15: I see now why the bouncer threw you out. Thank you though. I’ll give them a chance tomorrow, good night. 

Sokka smiled widely and typed out a reply. 

> To: Zuko Lee (Private), 00:16: It was JEALOUSY. And good night to you too!

Sokka went to bed with a bright smile on his face that night and if he dreamt of messy black hair, golden eyes and raspy laughter, that was only his business. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Let me know what you think or come yell at me about classicalverse and atla and lok on tumblr @flameyohotdamn


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